Kim Potter's Verdict Opens A New Chapter In The Fight For Police Reform

     For all the rage I feel with the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, especially knowing that the jury was in the right with the evidence they were allowed to see and that the judge was in the wrong with the evidence he allowed them to see, I have to have faith in America's criminal justice system. The Crumbleys have all been charged for the mass shooting in Oxford, and we must continue pressuring the United States Department of Justice to file additional charges against them as well as new charges against Kyle Rittenhouse and his mother.

     At the same time, the system has worked in other cases. Derek Chauvin was convicted and sentenced to 22.5 years in state court for the murder of George Floyd and pled guilty with a presumptive sentence of 20 to 25 years in federal court while still facing state tax evasion charges. Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Roddie Bryan were convicted of a combined total of 23 felony charges for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, each likely facing life in prison, while still facing federal hate crime charges. Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng still face state and federal charges for the George Floyd murder, DA Jackie Johnson face felony and misdemeanor charges for her coverup of the Ahmaud Arbery murder, and Brett Hankison still faces felony wanton endangerment charges for his involvement in the murder of Breonna Taylor. 

     Now, in this era where major verdicts and sentences for race-related crimes are being delivered by the month, Kim Potter has been convicted of shooting and killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright. She was convicted of manslaughter and faces a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. She has factors that make her a candidate for a sentence on the lower end, including the fact that she is a 50-year-old woman with a 25-year policing career with no complaints of misconduct and no criminal history, as well as several factors that make her a candidate for a tougher sentence, including the fact that she was in a position of public trust, endangered the passenger and people in the neighborhood by killing the driver of a moving vehicle, and should have known better as a veteran law enforcement officer. She is almost certain to face a sentence of between five and 10 years in prison: my bet would be she gets seven or eight years.

     However, even as we keep up public pressure until her sentencing in February (Black History Month 2022 is going to be a big one as Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, Derek Chauvin, William Roddie Bryan, Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and others all face sentencing and/or trials for high-profile cases), we must recognize that Kim Potter is only a small piece of the puzzle. Ahmaud Arbery's death led to states reforming or passing hate crime laws; George Floyd's death led to states banning carotid chokeholds; Breonna Taylor's death led to states banning no-knock warrants; other deaths led to states instituting processes to decertify bad police officers. Kim Potter's murder of Daunte Wright is, too, part of a larger, more disturbing trend. In the past six years, at least 20 officers have claimed to have killed or seriously wounded someone with their firearms while intending to reach for their tasers. Not a single one, until Kim Potter, has faced charges, nonetheless been convicted and sentenced.

     Kim Potter going to prison is accountability. To see real justice, I am urging the Department of Justice to work with states and review every past case similar to this one. I am also urging the DOJ to issue guidance for states and departments on how to implement devices to enable officers to better tell the difference between their tasers and firearms. The murder of Daunte Wright and the conviction of Kim Potter is not the end of anything: it opens a new chapter in the fight for racial justice and, in particular, police reform.